The Miracle of Pulling the Parent Trigger

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Last night I re-read Patrick Range McDonald'sstory in the LA Weekly of how Compton parents, working with the school reform group Parent Revolution, managed to get more than half the parents at McKinley Elementary School to sign a petition to remake the school top to bottom.

This is the so-called parent trigger.

What's fascinating about McDonald's story -- and makes it worth a read, despite its length -- is not what it says about education policy but what it tells you about the lives of working-class and poor children and their parents in Compton.

The lack of stability is remarkable. The parents were unable to find or locate 100 parents of the 400-plus parents in the school.

Whatever you think about the wisdom of the parent trigger, the need to find some way to engage and connect parents in schools is undeniable.